May 15, 2013

Deathcode Society - Ite Missa Est - Indiegogo campaign

Review by Justin C.

Deathcode Society describe themselves as "symphonic black metal." I usually get nervous when I see "symphonic," fearing music dripping with cheesy-sounding synths and overwrought choral effects, but there's no such problem on the band's two-song demo. The synths and electronics are tastefully added to machine-gun drumming, melodic black metal riffing, and a distinct bass presence. Even when the symphonic-like elements take center stage, as they do in a brief interlude in "The Inner Vortex," they're so well written and arranged that even the most skeptical of us have to admire them. The vocals take the form of a fiery, mid-range rasp. They've recently changed vocalists, but the band has helpfully posted two snippets of their new vocalist singing their demo tracks on their Bandcamp page, and the new guy is obviously up for the job.

The preview of the new vocalist is relevant because Deathcode Society is crowd-funding their full-length album at Indiegogo. For the uninitiated, sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo offer bands (and other artists and craftspeople) a way of funding their projects with support from the public at large. Backers can choose how much or how little they want to contribute, and in turn, they get a sort of "pre-order" package of their choosing. There's a little more risk involved, since the projects at hand are usually still in progress during the campaign and you can't go back and cancel your pledge once the campaign is complete, but the plus side is that you can help support a band that doesn't have access to huge record label advances. I've personally done this a couple of times already, with albums from Byzantine and Dreaming Dead, and it's been a lot of fun. I even kicked in some extra money to Byzantine for an extra reward, in the form of the complete guitar tablature for the album.

So if you think Deathcode's music is worth it and you have a little cash to spare, consider helping their funding along. They've chosen a Flexible Funding campaign, which, unlike Kickstarter's all-or-nothing projects, means the project can still be successful even if the full funding goal isn't reached. (If you haven't supported any crowd-funding efforts before, see Indiegogo's FAQ page for more details on how these things work.) Deathcode's campaign closes on May 27th, 11:59 U.S. Pacific Time. Even if you're not interested in the campaign, you can still get the excellent demo for a measly $2.